Right back at ya
From jpkmets:
Marty, Francouer has the lowest full-season OBP of any Met since Rey
Ordonez in 1998. He is hitting .145 in the second half of the year, and
has been beyond subpar for a corner outfielder for the last three-plus years. I
really wonder if the fact that he is a ‘go-to’ quote for you writers
blinds you all to his worth.
There is no amount of defense that can
make up for a right fielder who slugs below .400 and gets on base 25 percent of the
time. Clemente wouldn’t be worth that type of anemic stick, and make no
mistake, Francoeur doesn’t even have great range, just a canon for an
arm. But wow, never seen a player so enormously overrated by the media.
Other mediocre players should take a cue and they would end up with
fanatical support in the press despite the fact they have no business
starting for a big league team.
‘Heated’ pennant races
The double-edge sword of baseball under a roof assisted the Twins once more last week. They are playing home games in the great outdoors once again, so they had to go to the West side of Florida to take advantage of a ceiling. They did Aug. 5 at the Trop, the only big league arena remaining with an immovable top. Their knack of indoor baseball put them on the heels of the White Sox in the American League Central and altered the sequence of the standings in the East.
Ground rules that turned something vertical and playable into a game-winning hit were called into play in the ninth inning last week when Jason Kubel got under one and no member of the home team defense could do the same because a catwalk had interfered with the ball’s trajectory. And after the 8-6 defeat had cost his team its less-than-firm grip on first place, Rays manager Joe Madden rightly used the circumstances to underscore the need for new digs for his guys.
“I know it works both ways, but to lose a game in a pennant situation like that, because of a roof, truly indicates why there’s a crying need for a new ballpark in this area, regardless of where they put it,” Maddon said. “It just needs to be a real baseball field where, if you lose the pennant by one game and look back at a game like that, because the roof got in the way . . . we’d be very upset.”
The Twins lost a game in Tampa Bay last season because of a catwalk single by Carlos Pena, but, for years, they benefited from the roof at the Metrodome. When Whitey Herzog last month referred to the Cardinals’ loss to the Twins in the 1987 World Series, he identified the best-of-seven as the “NBA World Series,” because the home team prevailed in each game and Twins’ advantage was the greatest he ever had encountered with a roof that camouflaged some pop ups and fly balls and retained more decibels than a jet takeoff could produce.
The Rat couldn’t point his finger at the artificial surface in the Metrodome because his home field was covered with phony turf too.
Baseball is a natural as well as the national pastime. It ought to be played on grass, period, and, whenever possible, without a ceiling. If the Twins can play outdoors in the North – they might come November – the Rays should too, at least some of the time, in Florida. Of course, a retractable roof will be necessary if and when they flee Top-icana Field. The heat and humidity in the Tampa Bay area often is too much to bear.
Then again, the Rangers, Cardinals and Braves are in first place, playing their home games outdoors and in sauna conditions that routinely exist in their cities in the summer. The
Yankees lead Maddon’s second-place team, playing their home games in a park with everything but a roof in a city that regularly drains the power grid in an effort to keep its cool in this summer of excessive antiperspirant use.
Who can measure what effects nature will have on division races that, for the most part, are quite heated otherwise? For years, playing in Arlington, Tex. has been considered a detriment, but not so much this summer when the Rangers pitchers are more effective. Of course, the Rangers’ 11-game lead could melt like chocolate in the sun if the starters grow weary.
That shouldn’t be an issue for the first-place Padres or second-place Giants. Their home environments are quite comfortable and do little to sap energy. The Cardinals sweat it out each time they play in the vicinity of the Mississippi, just as the Reds do when they’re hitting home runs to the shores of the Ohio.
The heat in the Northeast may wilt the Yankees, hardly the game’s youngest group. And who knows? Playing home game indoors even with catwalks and synthetic grass, may benefit the Rays.
One more thing: Keep the press boxes at 70 degrees. Thank you.
– Marty Noble
Revising a revisionist
from someone named Bama13
Noble, the Braves won their division for 14 straight seasons not 11 as
you stated in your article. And as far as being worried about the
Phillies – they haven’t been the same team since they were caught
stealing signs from their bullpen with binoculars.
The story says the Braves won 11 straight NL East championships.
MN
One final Noble Thought
As of today, I will be taking over MLB.com’s Mets beat from Marty Noble. Marty will still frequent Citi Field, writing features and doing enterprise work, so he will continue to have a presence on Mets.com. But this blog, as of today, is dead.
To follow the Mets on MLBlogs, head over to my new blog, Mets Cetera. The content will be similar to this, only now that I am exclusively covering the Mets, I will be able to update far more frequently.
I urge you to bookmark the new blog, and look for updates beginning this afternoon.
Also, you can follow all my Mets coverage on Twitter @anthonydicomo.
–Anthony DiComo
The almost sort of perfect R.A. Dickey
Twenty-seven up, twenty-seven down for R.A. Dickey last night at Triple-A Buffalo. The only problem? He allowed a single to the first batter he faced in the game.
Either way, Dickey’s little slice of imperfection was rather impressive for the 35-year-old knuckleballer, who has a 1.59 ERA over his last four Triple-A starts, two of them complete games. Dickey estimated that 75-80 of his 90 pitches Thursday were knuckleballs.
You can read MiLB’s full report here.
So what does it mean for the Mets? Well, nothing right now. But you can bet if the Mets need a spot starter down the line, Dickey will be the first one they call.
–Anthony DiComo
Bernazard speaks about dismissal
Nine months ago, the Mets dismissed vice president of player development Tony Bernazard, after a series of newspaper reports indicated that he was involved in various altercations with players and team personnel.
Tuesday afternoon, he made his first public comments following the dismissal, which Fox Sports ran on its web site. The full transcript:
Fox Sports: What happened in Binghamton?
Tony Bernazard: Those things were blown out of proportion. I didn’t challenge any players (to a fight). I challenged players to do better. All that stuff that I challenged the players, no. We were developing players. We only challenged players to get better.
FS: So, why did you get fired?
TB: That’s a good question.
FS: Obviously, the Mets determined that they had good reasons.
TB: Not necessarily. They can fire you for whatever they want. You can get fired, but [reporters] making things up, that’s a different story. I’m telling you, I didn’t do anything wrong.
I got on the team. Yes, I did. I reprimanded the team for violating rules. But what is the Mets’ history when things don’t go right? They pick somebody, sometimes one person, sometimes other people. I was it.
FS: But nobody defended you.
TB: Players and managers said that [incident] didn’t happen. It wasn’t reported. It’s not what people wanted to report. It was, ‘Let’s get on this guy and that’s it.’ Everyone else jumped on the bandwagon of that one paper.
Because nobody defended you, that doesn’t mean all of the things were right. I’m telling you that I did get on the team. I got on their case for violating rules. People can interpret that any way you want.
FS: And taking off your shirt?
TB: I had a long-sleeve shirt on. I’m a bike rider. I had taken a long bike ride before I went to the meeting, a 55-mile bike ride.
What happens when you exercise like that? Your body starts relieving that heat. I took the shirt off because I was hot. As simple as that. Maybe I took it off in the middle of the meeting. You’re upset, you get hot. What a crime! I took my shirt off. By the way, I always wear a t-shirt.
FS: What about the incident with K-Rod?
TB: That’s with a player. I always protect [conversations] with players. That’s from being a [former] player.
It was no argument, nothing to talk about.
FS: The incident with the team employee?
TB: That was nothing. That was messing around. It was misinterpreted. It was no big deal.
FS: Do you think it will be difficult for you to find another job in baseball?
TB: No.
FS: Are you close to anything right now?
TB: I haven’t been looking for a job. [After the dismissal], I went to Europe for a month and a half, just relaxed.
I’ve always been a hard worker, very dedicated. But I’m taking it easy right now. If I would have been offered something that I thought was worthwhile, I probably would have done it. But I don’t want to force things.
I can help people. I can help an organization. I’m available. Let’s put it that way.
FS: There was a report that you were going to work for agent Scott Boras.
TB: There was a lot of bad information out there about me last year.
FS: Do you fear being black-balled?
TB: Black-balled, I don’t believe in that. No, no, no, no. I haven’t been looking for a job. And I had some calls. Some people approached me at the end of last year, in December.
FS: So, do you feel vindicated by the success of some of the Mets’ young players?
TB: Not vindicated. This is the thing: I was blamed for everything that happened to the Mets last year.
FS: Not everything . . .
TB: Just about everything. But one of the issues is, why do people choose to be so naïve, that one person was responsible for everything that happened to the Mets?
The Mets knew we had players. They knew Mejia and Ike Davis. They were there. Those two guys were in a group of players who were placed in an accelerated development program.
Ike Davis, this is his second year of full-season baseball. Jenrry Mejia, this is his second year of full-season baseball. Both players were in Brooklyn two years ago.
Because of their talent, because of what they showed, the type of maturity, the way they handled challenges when you kept pushing them — not every player can go through that, only a special guy.
Good players are going to make it, no matter what, if they stay healthy. It doesn’t matter if they struggle at first — whatever experiences they have, they’re going to make it. When you have that mental capacity — if you take two guys of equal talent, the one who is stronger mentally will do much better.
These two guys were part of the group in that accelerated process, and you see what they’re doing now.
FS: Who else was part of that group?
TB: Ruben Tejada. Jon Niese a couple of years ago. [Mike] Pelfrey didn’t play much in the minors. [Bobby] Parnell. [Daniel] Murphy. [Nick] Evans.
Sometimes it takes a little longer for some players. But the players were developing. That’s the issue.
If you’re going to give in to the outside pressure of the media and find it easy to sacrifice some people . . . if that’s the way you do business, that’s the way you do business. If you were so naïve to believe the stuff that you hear, that’s up to them.
All I know is, some of the players were developing. What happened to the organization . . . you have to create some kind of scapegoat, whatever term you want to use.
Nobody’s perfect. But let me tell you, there is a lot of knowledge of baseball in this industry and it’s in a small percentage of people. It’s not as great a percentage as people think. But everyone is an expert.
FS: And you think you are in that small percentage?
TB: (Chuckles) It takes experience, instincts and knowledge to be able to evaluate, to be able to dissect the way players react to different situations at any level, from the minor leagues to the big leagues. A lot of people think they know, think it’s easy. That’s what I was referring to.
Yes, I do have a lot of knowledge of baseball. People like writing controversial things, pushing controversial things, hitting people’s buttons.
Is that necessary? You tell me.
FS: Again, the Mets didn’t back you.
TB: Let’s go to that point. When people are covering their [butts], they don’t do things that are right . . . Did anyone in the Mets’ organization say I did all these things? Did they question my baseball knowledge?
I haven’t said anything about the Mets. It can’t change. Some people think I did the wrong thing by not saying anything. Some people said it was the right thing to do.
I know what happened. The kids on the team in Binghamton know what happened. If there are people who misinterpreted what happened there, maybe they didn’t have the job they wanted, weren’t promoted when they thought they should have been promoted.
I’m very dedicated and passionate about what I do. I was punished for trying to be great. I can’t regret that.
The Mets are adding payroll (sort of)
Looks like the Mets are adding expenses, after all. According to a feature on CNN.com, Bobby Bonilla will go back on the team’s payroll beginning next season:
“In
1999, Bonilla returned to the Mets for a second stint at Shea following
his borderline disastrous free-agent signing in 1992. Bonilla wasn’t
any better the second time around, so the Mets waived him in 2000. The
problem was that the team still owed Bonilla $5.9 million in guaranteed
salary.
“Bonilla’s agents worked out a deal with the Mets where
he would defer the salary if the team would pay him $1,193,248.20 every
July 1 from 2011 to 2035. Not a bad deal for someone who was so bad the
team basically paid him to go away.”
That $1.2 million
annual salary, in case you were wondering, is more than a dozen current
Mets are making this season, including Mike Pelfrey ($500,000), Jon Niese ($402,000) and Ike Davis ($400,000).
One pitch can change everything
Before the rains came Sunday night, Raul Valdes threw one pitch to Braves outfielder Jason Heyward.
It changed everything.
Because of that pitch, Mike Pelfrey was not credited with the complete game shutout of his career, as he otherwise would have been in the rain-shortened game. And because Valdes did not retire a batter, he was credited with — well, nothing.
The world of baseball statistics can be a strange, scary place.
–Anthony DiComo
Shades of Doc (and Coney and Ron)
Here’s one of the more interesting stats I’ve come across so far this season: according to the Elias Sports Bureau, Mets starters Johan Santana, John Maine, Jon Niese, Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez have combined to post a 1.39 ERA over their last 10 outings (two starts each). That’s the lowest ERA by Mets starters over any 10-game stretch since July 1991, when Dwight Gooden, Frank Viola, David Cone, Ron Darling and Wally Whitehurst produced a 1.27 mark over 10 games.
Here’s a look at the two impressive runs, 19 years apart. Note the differential in win-loss records and innings pitched:
July 1-13, 1991
July 1, Viola (7.0 IP, 1 ER, W)
July 2, Cone (7.0 IP, 1 ER, ND)
July 3, Darling (8.0 IP, 0 ER, W)
July 4, Whitehurst (8.0 IP, 1 ER, W)
July 5, Gooden (8.0 IP, 1 ER, W)
July 6, Viola (8.2 IP, 1 ER, W)
July 7, Cone (8.2 IP, 2 ER, W)
***All-Star Break***
July 11, Gooden (7.2 IP, 2 ER, ND)
July 12, Viola (7.0 IP, 2 ER, W)
July 13, Cone (8.0 IP, 0 ER, W)
Total: 8-0, 78.0 IP, 11 ER (1.27 ERA)
April 15-25, 2010
April 15, Pelfrey (7.0 IP, 0 ER, W)
April 16, Perez (6.1 IP, 1 ER, ND)
April 17, Santana (7.0 IP, 0 ER, ND)
April 18, Maine (5.0 IP, 3 ER, ND)
April 19, Niese (5.2 IP, 0 ER, ND
April 20, Pelfrey (7.0 IP, 0 ER, W)
April 21, Perez (5.0 IP, 2 ER, L)
April 22, Santana (6.1 IP, 1 ER, W)
April 23, Maine (3.2 IP, 1 ER, ND)
April 24, Niese (5.1 IP, 1 ER, ND)
Total: 3-1, 58.1 IP, 9 ER (1.39 ERA)
–Anthony DiComo
Two Bay? Or not two Bay
Okay, that headline may be a stretch. But it comes on the heels of Jerry Manuel saying he’s considering bumping Jason Bay up to second in the lineup, in the hopes that such a move could jump-start his struggling slugger.
Manuel’s theory is that if Jose Reyes gets on base, the newly-distracted pitchers will have to feed Bay a steadier diet of fastballs. And Bay most certainly is a fastball hitter.
Manuel could accomplish the same thing, of course, by dropping Reyes down to third in the lineup and having Bay hit cleanup. But he recently has shown a hesitancy to do that, making Bay’s move to No. 2 more likely.
Either way, we’ll find out Friday. Manuel reiterated that he is planning on shaking things up before Friday night’s game against the Braves.
–Anthony DiComo
mlblogsnoble1
mlblogsdiningwithdre2
on Reyes for not celebrating a routine play completed successfully
before the end of the game?
I wonder how many times you wanted him banished for exuberance when he
was younger.
This column is baffling — and that is to put it charitably.
Response:
First, I neither ridiculed nor criticized Reyes for his reaction. I merely noted what I had witnessed — his reaction — and said buoyancy has disappeared from the club in general. And it’s understandable that it has. The season is long, draining and at this point without much reward. It’s a sad situation.
I recognize fully that Francoeur has had a difficult season. I also recognize or believe that he has been mishandled. Bat him sixth or seventh and leave him alone; that would have been my method. The extended absences of Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran and David Wright’s uneven production combined to steamroll Francoeur who takes too much in himself.
If the Mets had a consistent lineup with other players making the primary contributions — as had been their plan, Francouer would have sufficed as a complementary player with what he provides in right field, in the clubhouse and with offensive production that I suspect would have been more substantial. He’s not Kevin McReynolds, but he can be an asset. I do believe Francoeur’s presence has been an asset. I haven’t been there enough since early May to judge the impact of his quotes. But he is a good guy with an honest point of view.
I don’t always buy players’ assertions that they need to “know their roles,” not that Francoeur has said much in that regard. But my sense of it is that a lot of the game is routine, and the Mets have had almost no routine in terms of personnel in Jerry Manuel’s time. Injuries have made routine more difficult to achieve. But it hasn’t been injuries alone.
Thanks for reading and — I hope — for listening too / MN